By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Marcy Buchanan says it’s been a dream come true to have her book published after 20 years of serious writing. The book is due in July. (Amy Satterwhite photo) Irving College community resident Marcy Buchanan is living proof that persistence pays off.The grandmother of two…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Editor’s Note: The following is the first part of a continuing series detailing the well-being of children in Warren County, as was determined by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth in its recent publication “Kids Count 2002: The State of the Child in Tennessee.”…

As 80,000 people converge on Manchester for the Bonnaroo music festival this weekend, local establishments are hoping some of those numbers rub off here.According to a Middle Tennessee State University survey, last year’s festival “created an unprecedented level of activity in Manchester, surrounding counties and along Interstate 24,” while noting most economic impact occurred on-site.Including…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard FULTS Saying a Barfield Elementary teacher threatened to tell people he was gay if he ever reported him, a 16-year-old Murfreesboro boy identified local resident Craig Fults as the man who molested him.Fults, 38, of Warren County, was bound to the Rutherford County grand jury…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Using specialized computer software, McMinnville Police Department officials have released this sketch of a slender, white male believed to be in his 20s. Police have released a composite picture of the West Riverside slasher, hoping to get a lead on the man who slashed the…

Cynthia Suzette Link Melton, 41Smithville resident and Tampa, Fla., native Cynthia Suzette Link Melton, 41, died unexpectedly June 9.She is survived by her husband, Mark Melton of Morrison; stepdaughter, Keri Melton of Georgia; stepsons, Taylor Holton Melton and Dalton Melton, both of McMinnville, Mark Derwade Melton II of Georgia and Travis Melton of Smithville; mother,…

By George Plagenz / Columnist I was once the moderator of a weekly radio broadcast titled “The Bible Speaks to You.” I liked the title because it more or less said it all. The Bible speaks to “all sorts and conditions of men” (and women), although its message may be different for each.I was reminded…

By William Rusher / Columnist In the last couple of decades, the conservative movement has grown so large, and subdivided into so many factions, that even discriminating observers can be forgiven for confusing one with another. Just who are these “neoconservatives,” who are allegedly so influential in the Bush administration, and how do they differ…

By James Clark / Columnist Follow along as we play a little game. It’s a game called Find the Weapons of Mass Destruction.It’s a game President Bush has been playing for, oh, about three months now. And every night he’s gone to bed a loser.It seems like such a short time ago, President Bush stood…

The engagement and forthcoming marriage of Kristen Olivia Wilson and Paul Edward “Buddy” Cox II are being revealed. The couple will exchange nuptial vows in a ceremony planned for June 21 at Fall Creek Falls Inn.The bride-elect is the daughter of Greg and Sherry Wilson. She is the granddaughter of Robert and Joene Wilson, Billy…